


Windows Vs Doors

by Angie13



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-05
Updated: 2015-05-05
Packaged: 2018-03-29 03:39:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3880843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angie13/pseuds/Angie13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(Age of Ultron semi-spoilers) Clint has been thinking and has a question for Steve.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Windows Vs Doors

“So… Banner and Nat…”

Steve looked up in surprise. “Yeah?” He squinted a bit to see his unexpected visitor. Then he set down his pencil and sat back just enough to relieve the glare. Clint stood with the sun at his back, hazing his expression in shadows. Steve could not help but smile at it, really. He figured the other man did not even consciously realize he had done that, so accustomed to taking point positions and using his surroundings in his favor. Best to keep the target unsure of your dimensions. A sniper’s trick. Bucky had explained it to him once. Steve’s smile faded but did not completely disappear. Carefully, he closed the notebook on his lap, slipped the pencil into the spiral rings on top, and set it aside. “What about Bruce and Natasha?” he prompted.

“Well, just… Huh.” Clint shrugged and moved to sit on the low wall at his side. He gazed ahead at the skyline which Steve had previously been so intent on capturing. “Feel kinda stupid that I didn’t see it, I guess,” he finally admitted. Then he cast a sidelong glance at Steve. “I thought… Well, sorry about that.”

Steve blinked, a furrow forming between his eyebrows. “Sorry?” he repeated. “What are you sorry about?”

“You.” As soon as the word left his mouth, Clint seemed to realize it answered nothing and, in fact, could be taken entirely wrong. He lifted his hands quickly and made a swift gesture as if negating his own voice. “I mean, not you, per se. You’re a good guy, Cap. A really good guy. Not that Banner isn’t. But, you know, I guess I sort of thought you would be good for her.”

That made him grin as the light dawned. “What? Me and Natasha?” Steve shook his head, not quite chuckling. “No, she and Bruce will work just fine.”

Clint turned at that, tipped his head to one side like a curious bird, and stared at Steve until he squirmed in his seat. Then the archer shrugged vaguely. “But you and her… There was…”

Steve sobered and shook his head again. This time, though, a quick eye would have detected a glint of unexplained hesitation in the movement. “Maybe there was a window at one point but, you know, Clint, doors are always better than windows.” He stood and scooped up his sketchpad. Then he patted the other man’s shoulder consolingly. “You know better than anyone that Natasha needs a door more than anything else. It’s okay. As long as she’s happy. That’s the important part.”

“And Banner?”

“Him, too. He deserves all of the happiness he can find and she can give.” Steve offered another slight smile. “Don’t worry about me, Clint. Being the wrong window is something that happens sometimes. You get past it.” He paused, considered the archer for a moment, and then shrugged. He adjusted the sketchbook against his hip. “Right?”

Clint nodded, the slow customary smirk touching the corner of his mouth. “Right.” He stood up and dusted off his pants with elaborate casualness. “She would’ve broken you in bed, anyway.”

Feeling his cheeks warm involuntarily at the comment, Steve snorted and turned on his heel, leading the way back to the rooftop door. “It’s not polite to think about that kind of stuff,” he muttered reprovingly, “and what Nat does in the privacy of her own bedroom is her own damn business.”

“Such language, Cap!” 

But the laughter had returned to Clint’s voice completely and, for that, Steve allowed himself a satisfied grin. No matter what his own feelings might or might not be for the redhead, the important thing really was the health and happiness of his team. Of course, sometimes that required a bit more work and talking on his part... Or, in this case, every satellite Tony could co-opt into finding either a big green rage monster or a quiet good man. He just had to get Bruce back here and then Nat could and would do the rest.

Or at least that is what he told himself.


End file.
